Plate tectonics of SE Asia and the SW Pacific

Robert Hall, Lloyd White, Gordon Lister & Wim Spakman

Aims

The project has a long term aim of improving reconstructions of the region, mapping the distribution of land and sea, displaying vertical motions accompanying plate motions, and documenting relationships between igneous activity and mineralisation.

Background

Understanding the tectonic development of the region is of considerable importance. There is an obvious academic interest in identifying the fundamental tectonic processes associated with subduction, collision and the links between plate motions and global events. There is a desire in the hydrocarbon industry to have a tectonic framework for understanding sedimentary basin evolution and hydrocarbon occurrences. The plate tectonic reconstructions also need to be integrated with coastline and topography maps, which are of value in understanding such things as sediment pathways, as well as the implications of the geological development for floras and faunas.